040: not so good friday

Posted on December 12, 2008
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The day before had me all excited for this morning, similar conditions forecast. but, it wasn’t meant to be. met Bennie down the beach. no one out. looked iffy. just junky surf. we see a set roll through. maybe rideable. suit up and paddle out. worse than we thought. rip tearing down to the south, like a river. fifteen minutes and one wave. not every day can have the magic.

039: good morning

Posted on December 11, 2008
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morning wind a little stronger than they predicted. but still offshore at the cove. up and on it early. from bed to wetsuit. at least it had a couple days to dry out. sun is coming up. tide is pretty full, but wow, look at that surf. just as clean as can be, and good size… 4-8 foot. and nobody out! just a few guys further down the beach. what’s that longboarder doing so far outside. oh! wakeup call. building swell, bigger set comes through. head and a half. cold duckdive! second one even colder. paddle out isn’t so bad. catch a couple smaller ones, then comes the set. building from outside. you can just tell. just as much as seeing it, something tingles and you know it will be a big set. rushing to position, paddle for it. catch it… at that exact moment, the first ray of sun bursts over the hill, lighting up the cove. magical. now I can go to work smiling.

038: changes

Posted on December 9, 2008
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how quickly this moody beach changes. looked so inviting (see photo.) and it was. but that didn’t last long. about forty minutes later, the cove gets angry again and started dishing out some unpleasantness. sky is grey. somber. the glassy conditions begin to succumb to some onshores. some bigger sets start rolling in, new swell arriving, well overhead on the bombs. shifty, sectiony and unpredictable. you roll the dice; will I make it? then a bitch of a paddle back out, beatdowns all over the place. then it really starts falling apart. currents. drift. closeouts. wind. time to go in. bye bye OB… for now.

037: solitude

Posted on December 9, 2008
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more ocean beach. down the middle of the beach somewhere north of noriega. dart across the great highway. up over the dunes. not near a named spot or street, therefore less people. crowds to the north and to the south. peak out front there, looking good. and looking empty. scramble into suit. water feels freezing. offshores aren’t as warm. clear sky. sun is shining. waves well overhead on the sets. lucky… relatively easy paddle out. catch a nice one right off. good way to start things rolling. “man the big surf sure chewed on these sandbars” says another loner as he paddles by south on a big board, headed for a different peak. alone again. lots of waves rolling through. somewhat hard to stay in position and line them up. have to be patient. in the meantime, the views are something to appreciate. the views of the landscape: the city, the graffiti on the seawall down the beach, the marin headlands and it’s so clear, is that point reyes? and the views of these incredible waves, peaks down the beach you can look right through and see out the other side of. sun shining through. especially nice to watch when someone is taking off. steep drop and then they disappear, behind the shoulder. barrelled? some big drops. a few nice long waves. big smile. more waves. drifting north, stop fighting, just let it happen. now near VFWs. more crowds. ’surf’ my way back, taking rights only. on it goes. another bomb, miss it. second chance, dial in! big wall stretching out… it turns into long session, waves good,hard to leave. still have the new england “get it while it’s good, it’ll be gone soon” mentatility. over three hours. arms tired. body tired. but homemade tacos with produce from the farmers market a cold beer and a long hot shower are there waiting.